I am slowly coming out of the fog and the pain is starting to ease. I can move my right arm almost to the shoulder level. I have been anxiously waiting for the pathology report.

I finally got some of my pathology results back from the nurse today and my surgeon just called me (Friday night at 9:30).

1. There were NO lymph nodes involved2. The margins were clear around the tumor

He said that even though the cancer biopsies came out a Grade 2, mine was now a Grade 3. There are only three grades. I finally get a perfect score in something and it is for the wrong thing. Grade 3 cancer is the aggressive kind. He said the size of the cancer was a lot larger than he had thought. It was 4 ˝ centimeters. He was still in a little shock by the size as it felt so much smaller to him and the echo showed it to be a lot smaller. A mastectomy was the only choice for this type, size and grade so I am glad I made the right decision. He said he couldn’t have got it all doing a lumpectomy.

I see the 2 surgeons on Monday and I am to make the app’t then to see the oncologist. They want me to heal first and he said my best odds for survival would be to take chemo and they would go over the recurrence and mortality rates. . So that is what I will do. My best guess is that I will start sometime before mid November. The oncologist will have a port placed into my chest. My sons-in-law said they will shave their heads if I lose my hair.

What a Bummer. But the NO lymph node involvement is really good news.

Thank you again for the thoughts, beautiful cards and just caring. You are keeping my spirits up.

Lov and HUGS to all of you.

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Sammie # 7651

When you get in a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn. -- Harriet Beecher Stowe